What the Wilderness can Teach a Young Gentleman

Afternoon gents, it’s Max from the Young Gentleman’s Guide here! For today’s article, I’m going to draw a lot from my experience as a Boy Scout and attempt to teach you young gents reading this how the great outdoors are a true gentleman’s playground and classroom. So let’s not waste any time and get right into it!

1. Self-Preservation

While I’ve obviously never been in a situation where I’ve had to survive in the wilderness by myself, I’m confident that the skills I’ve learned as an Eagle Scout could help me survive for at least a little bit if the situation called for it. After seven (7) years of going on hikes and campouts with my Boy Scout troop, there are so many valuable skills I learned that I could not have learned elsewhere. Some skills that have stuck with me to this day are things like how to most efficiently pack a backpack, how to properly stack wood for a fire, how to read and orient a map, and how to properly and carefully ration food. And that’s just to name a few of the things I learned. These are skills that not a lot of young men today have, and with the Boy Scouts currently considering bankruptcy, it could be even harder for young men to find a place to learn these skills in a practical way. But even if you aren’t a Scout, it’s always best to abide by the Scout motto, “Be prepared”.

2. Appreciation for Nature

It’s no secret that with the amount of hikes and campouts I’ve been on, I’ve had the opportunity to see quite a few different natural locations, biomes, and ecosystems. Whether it was the vast desert in Death Valley, the mountainous heights of the Sierra Nevadas, or the lush forests of Las Padres, I eventually came to greatly appreciate what Mother Nature had to offer. Moreover, another thing this led to was my intense appreciation for the stars and astronomy. Since so many of the places I went to were devoid of the intense amount of light pollution of the modern world, I’ve been able to see the night sky in all of its wonder and beauty. With so much of modern life being so hectic and energized, being able to sit back and enjoy the beauty, tranquility, and majesty of the natural elements can be a great de-compressor for any young man.

3. Observational Skills

Travelling in the outdoors, it’s a given that you’ll see a lot of different things; trees, plants, animals, animal tracks, landscapes, and the like. And as a result, if you go to the same area often, it can allow to become familiar with the biome and ecosystem. It can help you more easily identify what animals are in the area by finding their tracks, or what types of trees are present by just looking at their leaves. While it can be debated what kind of practicality this has in real life, in my opinion, general knowledge in a variety of subjects is always a good thing for a young man to have.

So there it is! Those are just a few things that a young man can learn in the wilderness. To be honest, there’s probably a lot more that the wilderness has to teach, and if those of you who are reading like this article, maybe I’ll make a part two (2)! In any case, I hope you enjoyed reading today’s article. Please be sure to share the post, follow the blog, donte to our Patreon, and follow The Young Gentleman’s Guide on Facebook and Instagram. And on that note, this is Max from The Young Gentleman’s Guide, and I’ll see you next time!